CIAS 2017 - Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario

Here at Melons' Better Driving, we do things a little differently. We're going to have a different, more organized format with which to trickle content out - we have way too many photos to just release at one time, and way too much to say, write about, and more. What we're doing instead is a sort of main atmosphere post, followed by the actual discussion of cool new cars, new ideas, innovations and more in an awards-gala format later. This is the Introduction to the Melons' Better Driving coverage of the Canadian International Auto Show 2017.

This is the Ford Mustang GT350R's rear quarter panel - one of the very last cars we were able to photograph before the final DSLR battery died.

Toronto is known for many, many things. The CN Tower, the Skydome, Lake Ontario's frigid waters, GO trains, one of the least successful hockey teams, basketball teams and baseball teams, being Canada's largest city, a reportedly crumbling infrastructure, congestion, traffic, and many millions of more things. One thing that it's not known for, is the likelihood of hosting very large motoring events. It doesn't really seem to come up in regular discussions that Toronto has one of the richest motorsports heritages and automotive cultures in the world. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Toronto cares more about its skyscrapers, Starbucks, Tim Horton's, and public transportation than its cars. And yet, walking through Toronto is nearly impossible due to the omnipresent danger of bustling traffic driving badly on the best of days. It is, through and through, a car city for the time being, and seemingly likely to stay such into the future.

You would furthermore be forgiven for thinking that Toronto would never host a large celebration of the art of the automobile - the thing that clogs its arteries like cholesterol after that cannelloni that you knew you probably shouldn't have eaten. Life's too short not to indulge, you say, in reference to both, private transportation and cannelloni. Seriously, who can live with bland chicken and body-odour ridden buses?

Toronto is unknowingly a capital city of the automotive culture of the world. You don't think that it's by chance that Ford's luxury models and high-performance models are made north of the border, do you? We Canadians love our cars. The huge Canadian International Auto Show is merely just a statement of intent by the media, the citizens, and the fans, that shows that Toronto loves cars. We have Mosport (or, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, if you will, though any true Torontonian will still call it Mosport), we have the Honda Indy, and we have Toronto Motorsports Park in Cayuga. We have muscle cars, hypercars, exotics, and everything in between. Luxury models abound throughout the streets of Toronto. And that's just Toronto, don't even start with the other large cities in Canada. In its entirety, Canada is home to some of the biggest car communities in the world. It was only appropriate for there to be an entire convention center - 2,000,000 squared feet - bustling with people attempting to politely elbow each other to see the best cars, in typical Canadian fashion. We still get our jobs done, and we still get our photos, but not without being polite about it! On the Family Day Monday, the day Melons' Better Driving staff attended the event, there were an estimated 48,545 people in the facility. You had to be fairly aggressive to get the right photos in some cases, so I can completely understand trying to walk that fine Canadian line of polite aggression - to get the job done without being impolite. With record attendance levels according to this (www.autoshow.ca/releases/autoshow-continues-to-draw-record-crowds/), things are not expected to change that much.

Fun for the entirety of thousands of families: this fine gentleman is holding his exuberant daughter, while remarking to himself about the presence of a guide dog guiding the gentleman in the tye-dye shirt. to the left of the frame. The daughter's face speaks a million words about the atmosphere of the show

Even the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were present - they were giving some demonstrations and recruiting, among other things.

The OPP even had a police dog. This dog got a lucky break from chores - [s]he gets to relax and look pretty all day

And so, the show might come as a surprise to some of the people reading this article - the idea that Toronto doesn't care about cars couldn't be any further from the truth. As of right now, record attendance is expected at the auto show. There are 1000 vehicles to see, some of which are worth millions of dollars. Missing out would surely be an unfortunate thing - come join us, if you can. If not? Melons' Better Driving has got you covered. Here's a sample of the rest of what's to come here: